Offseason Primer

by Frank Madden on May 1, 2008 10:54 AM CDT

Dates to look forward to while you twiddle your thumbs...

May 20: Draft Lottery. At the seventh spot, the Bucks will a 4.3% chance of claiming the first overall pick, but according to the math , their chances of landing in the top three are about 15%. Hope springs eternal!
May 27-30: Pre-draft camp begins in Orlando. Here's where we'll get official measurements on all the 2008 prospects, allowing us to obsess over vertical leaps, standing reaches and wingspans for the next month. For some historical perspective, check out DraftExpress' awesome database of Pre-Draft Measurements. Fun fact: Bobby Simmons (6'7.5") and Desmond Mason (6'7.25") each measured about two inches taller at their respective pre-draft camps than they're currently listed at (6'6" and 6'5" respectively).
June 26: NBA Draft. Where terrible suits happen .
July 1: Free agency negotiations begin. This is also the day that Mo Williams and a host of other players (like Anderson Varejao, Josh Howard) coming off the first year of big extensions lose their BYC status and become much easier to trade. In other words, if you're expecting a Mo Williams trade at some point this offseason, it probably won't happen until July.
July 9: Earliest date at which free agent contracts (with some exceptions) can be signed. In all likelihood many guys will reach contract agreements in the preceding week, but those deals can't be officially signed until the moratorium is over.
July 11-20: Vegas Summer League kicks off, which will hopefully give us a chance to take another look at Ramon Sessions and whomever the Bucks pick in the draft. I'll go out on a limb and say Awvee Storey will also be there. This will also be the first chance for Scott Skiles' coaching staff to work with players.
August 10-24: Olympic games in Beijing. If all goes according to plan, Andrew Bogut, Michael Redd and Yi Jianlian will be there, with Yi and Redd facing off in the opening game.
October 1: Somewhere around this time training camp starts...feel the excitement, people!